ADDITIONAL NOTES:completed airing its first season on 2/7/18; has yet to be renewed for a second season

DESCRIPTION:(from Smithsonian Channel's press release, December 2017) Sir David Attenborough considers the Great Barrier Reef the most magical place on Earth, having first visited the extraordinary locale off the coast of Queensland, Australia in 1957. Returning now to one of the seven natural wonders of the world, one of the world's most renowned naturalists visits a place that has amazed scientists and wildlife experts for decades and which, today, brings up major concerns about climate change and the effects of human contact. Giving viewers a rare opportunity to explore the Reef via sky and sea, as well as unprecedented access to some of its most remote parts and all the incredible creatures that call it home, DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S GREAT BARRIER REEF premieres Wednesday, January 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Smithsonian Channel. Since his first visit 60 years ago, Attenborough has wanted to return to the underwater paradise of the Great Barrier Reef, which is shrouded in mystery and difficult to explore. In DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S GREAT BARRIER REEF: BUILDERS, Attenborough is equipped with new, state-of-the-art technology as he climbs aboard the Alucia, an exploration vessel measuring more than 180 feet that features a Triton submersible, research laboratories and a helicopter. Diving at night, he explores the underwater wonderland like never before and meets some of the tiny creatures that helped build the great living structure into what it is today.